Garry Johnson III (MBA ’26) is the founder and CEO of BVP Coffee Co.The company, established in 2023, provides products and services such as freshly roasted coffee beans, limited-edition cultural blends, subscriptions, merch, and fundraising programs for schools, gyms, and community organizations. Johnson explained that BVP Coffee Co. was created to merge three things: culture, innovation, and community wealth-building.
“Coffee has always been more than a drink — it’s a ritual, a gathering place, and a cultural connector,” said Johnson. “We wanted to honor that legacy while pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in food, technology, and sustainability. BVP Coffee Co. began during a pivotal moment in our country, when Black history, Black identity, and the legacies of our ancestors were under attack. At a time when schools and states were restricting the teaching of our stories, we made a conscious decision to use our coffee products to teach, celebrate, and preserve Black history. Every limited-edition roast, cultural blend, and storytelling moment became a vehicle to uplift our leaders, our movements, and our heritage. Coffee became both a classroom and a cultural archive.”
BVP Coffee Co.’s team, which currently includes five employees, is distributed across the Greater Philadelphia and Dallas Metro areas. Customers can order specialty coffee and artisanal teas from its online storefront, subscribe to a monthly delivery service, or pick up products at pop-up events across the country. The company uses electric air-roasting technology, which creates a smoother, cleaner cup with fewer bitter compounds. People who “don’t usually drink coffee,” Johnson noted, often fall in love with their coffee because it’s “gentler on the palate, more flavorful, and crafted to be enjoyed by everyone.” The team roasts their beans to order, ensuring every bag is fresh, precise, and personal.
In addition to these products and services, Johnson and his team are building an AI-powered micro-roastery and a 24/7 “Virtual Café” to blend hospitality, education, and storytelling.
“As an entrepreneur and educator working in innovation ecosystems, I recognized that many communities — especially Black and brown communities — were continually left out of the next wave of technology,” said Johnson. “BVP Coffee Co. became the perfect gateway to build something accessible, culturally rooted, and future focused. We’re demonstrating that a Black-owned coffee company can operate with the sophistication of a tech startup, powered by AI, robotics, and sustainability — while reinvesting in the people and the history that made us.”
With his business, Johnson supports students who attend HBCUs. BVP Coffee Co. donates 1% of its revenue to support HBCU student scholarships, with a $1 million lifetime goal. The company is also pioneering a “Digital Barista Academy” to train the next generation in AI, robotics, and hospitality with a goal of creating pathways into the future of work.
“Through partnerships with HBCUs, local businesses, African farmers, and community organizations, we aim to model what it looks like when culturally centered, tech-enabled companies reinvest in the communities that shaped us,” he said.
Johnson and his BVP Coffee team are currently among the top five finalists vying for a $750,000 Delaware EDGE STEM Grant and are actively crowdfunding on Wefunder (at wefunder.com/bvpcoffeeco).
“Anyone in the community can become an investor in our vision, and we need support in amplifying the campaign,” said Johnson.
Company: BVP Coffee Co.
Website: bvp.coffee
Instagram: @bvpcoffeeco | X: @bvpcoffeeco
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/bvpcoffeeco
TAHIR MURRAY'S WEARABLE LEGACY
Tahir Murray (BBA ’21) is following in his family’s footsteps as a third-generation entrepreneur. Murray is the founder and CEO of Legacy History Pride (LHP), a premiere HBCU-licensed apparel company. The Queens, New York native birthed the idea for LHP during his time as a student at Howard, continuing the entrepreneurial tradition of his father and grandfather, who owned a sneaker store and later an apparel brand. Murray was inspired to create LHP after lamenting the limited diversity of apparel options available in HBCU bookstores.
“Stepping on Howard’s campus, I noticed that there was such a lack of diversity when it came to the type of merchandise that was offered in HBCU bookstores,” Murray said in a Forbes article earlier last year, written by Howard journalism student Zoe Cummings.
In the article, Murray shared that LHP’s mission is to provide “high-quality, unique, and creative apparel that is synonymous with the richness and uniqueness of HBCUs and Black culture at large.”
“There’s so much history that’s rooted in HBCUs, and people take great pride in both that legacy and history part,” he told Forbes. “All of those terms speak to who we are and what we hope to accomplish.”
Murray’s HBCU-inspired designs have outfitted celebrities such as NBA All-Star Chris Paul, former NFL star Cam Newton, and most recently artist Chance the Rapper. Since launching LHP in 2019, Murray’s grown the company to be a signature HBCU apparel brand that has been featured in national media publications such as NBC Sports, Ebony, Black Enterprise, and Fast Company. He has collaborated with corporations such as Paramount, Nickelodeon, NASCAR, and the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets team and programs such as the 1619 Freedom School, a partnership with Howard’s current Knight Chair in Race and Journalism Nikole Hannah-Jones. LHP even caught the attention of producer and music artist Pharrell Williams after Murray won a $25,000 prize as a participant in a competition organized by Williams’ nonprofit organization Black Ambition in 2024.
Murray has stayed true to his Bison roots, amplifying the university through his Howard-inspired apparel. Last year, he designed the official t-shirt for Howard’s 100th Homecoming celebration. He’s made it a mission to uplift the legacy of HBCUs and shared with Forbes that “Going [to Howard] taught me to be unapologetically myself while also preparing me for the world. HBCUs prepare you by putting you in positions outside of classrooms that allow you to think critically about who you are and who you want to be in the world. Howard was my first time experiencing that kind of belief and preparation in any educational environment. It gave me the confidence to step out on my own.”
Murray is also giving back to current and prospective HBCU students by funding scholarship opportunities. In August 2025, he announced in the Atlantic Voice that LHP has “partnered with the Atlanta HBCU Alumni Alliance on philanthropic projects, and one of our biggest collaborations was with Black Lives Matter.”
“That initiative allowed us to give a quarter of a million dollars in scholarships to Black and Brown students and HBCUs students,” he said.
Company: Legacy History Pride
Website: shoplhp.com
Instagram: @shoplhp
Facebook: facebook.com/ShopLHP
JERK AT NITE: HOT AND SPICY
Denville Myrie Jr. (B.S. ’14) began selling his famed Jamaican jerk chicken from his Drew Hall dorm room in 2013 while he was a student at the university. His campus cooking soon became a go-to for students in search of late night eats after campus dining facilities closed each day. That was start of his culinary career, which eventually led to the creation of his Jamaica-inspired restaurant, Jerk at Nite.
Myrie joined forces with fellow alum Kadeem Todd to create Jerk at Nite. The owners purchased a food truck in 2014, and later purchased two additional food trucks with the goal of establishing a storefront. Now, Jerk at Nite has four brick and mortar locations in Washington D.C., Baltimore, College Park, and Detroit, in addition to two active food trucks. The menu includes fan favorites such as the jerk teriyaki “jammin’ salmon,” its classic rasta pasta, the “jerk box n’ mac,” and oxtail tacos. Food reviewer and former MMA fighter Keith Lee, a social media star who has more than 17 million followers on TikTok and is most known for his viral reviews of restaurant offerings from around the country, paid a visit to Jerk at Nite’s D.C. location in 2024 and described the food as “the best Caribbean food he’s ever had.” The positive review resulted in long lines of people interested in trying the jerk and curry-infused delicacies.
Myrie has a passion for food, community involvement, and serving the masses. He hopes to bring the robust flavors of Jerk at Nite to every major city through franchise opportunities and additionally serve underprivileged residents of those communities.
“I grew up in Queens, New York, watching my dad cooking things like jerk salmon, curry chicken, rice and peas, and watching my uncle, who was a full-time chef for over 30 years, cooking staples like escovitch fish, festival, ackee, and salt fish and curry chicken,” said Myrie in a Voyage Baltimore article. “My parents and grandparents were born and raised in Jamaica, West Indies, and migrated to America for better opportunities. Although I am the first generation born in America, I am deeply rooted in my culture as I was raised in a heavily influenced Jamaican household. When I went to Howard, I realized the food options late at night were scarce and unhealthy. I was used to home cooking and rich, hearty meals. I saw a void that needed to be filled.”
Myrie shared in Voyage Baltimore that he wants to do more than dish out tasty Caribbean cuisine — he wants to build up the community by providing opportunities to those in need.
“I am driven by success and the need to build my community which creates jobs. I want everyone who wants to be a part of the culture and mission to work with me in transforming our surroundings.”
Company: Jerk at Nite
Website: jerkatnite.com
Instagram/Tik Tok: @jerkatnite
TREATING SKIN WITH CARE
Facial plastic surgeon Dr. Charles M. Boyd (B.S. ’87) is making beauty his business with his company BOYD Beauty, a premium medical spa that provides services that include facial plastic surgery, advanced Botox and filler treatments, customized skin care, and hydrafacials. The company, established in 2009, is based in Michigan and has three offices located in Birmingham, Ann Arbor, and Detroit.
Boyd began the company with the Birmingham location with one employee, sharing that he “pulled my mother out of retirement to become my first office manager.” The company has since bloomed in staffing, currently employing 24 staff members throughout its locations.
“I have always loved science and art since my time at Howard,” said Boyd. “Plastic surgery is a perfect blend of both. I always wanted to start my own practice. I pursued an MBA after attending Harvard Medical School.”
Boyd, a former member of Howard’s Board of Trustees who served from 2013-2022, has more than two decades of experience in facial aesthetics and rejuvenation. He is double board-certified by the American Board of Facial Plastic Reconstructive Surgery and the American Board of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery. With BOYD Beauty, he’s become one of Michigan’s most trusted names in facial aesthetics.
“It is very important to have a Black-owned business be seen as the top,” Boyd noted. “We have always been voted the top plastic surgery/medical spa office in the Detroit Metro area. When you walk past or walk into our offices, the images you see let you know it is Black owned.”
Boyd is taking his business ventures to the next level with the launch of Foncée, a physician-formulated skin care and cosmetics line for melanated skin. From deep cleansing to advanced hydration, each step of the Foncée Complete System, which includes six products, “builds on the next to restore balance, clarity, and radiance in melanated skin.”
“Foncée was specifically formulated to address the often-overlooked needs of darker skin,” said Boyd.
He emphasized how his connection to the Howard Bison community has been a vital part of his career growth. “My Bison network has been with me my entire career, from starting my first plastic surgery office to the launch of my skin care line,” said Boyd. “People like my partner in Foncée, Dennis Ellis, to the hundreds of fellow alums have supported me.”
In addition to creating his own skin care line, Boyd has collaborated with some of the country’s leading skin care companies. Since 2018, BOYD Beauty has partnered with SkinCeuticals, the top-rated medical skin care company in the United States. BOYD Beauty’s Detroit location serves as a SkinCeuticals’ flagship location.
“As someone who evaluates many emerging technologies, bringing only the best and latest innovations to my patients, SkinCeuticals is an obvious and valued partner for my BOYD Beauty practices,” Boyd said in an article announcing his partnership with SkinCeuticals. “I am thrilled to have the brand join me on this next step in my professional journey.”
Earlier this year, BOYD Beauty also partnered with RegenCen, the regenerative medicine division of the Cosmetic Skin & Laser Center. The collaboration provides BOYD clientele with regenerative care treatments such as menopause medicine, testosterone therapy, bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, and platelet-rich fibrin treatments for joint health.
“This collaboration allows me to offer my patients advanced treatments that go beyond aesthetics — supporting vitality, longevity, and overall wellness,” said Boyd in the partnership announcement.
In addition to impacting the lives of his clientele with beautification methods, Boyd is also using his skills and expertise to provide free health care and surgeries for residents of Kenya and other parts of East Africa, including surgeries on people with cleft lips and palates.
“It’s such a life-changing and impactful experience on so many different levels. That’s what’s kept me going back year after year,” said Boyd in an article in the Detroit lifestyle magazine SEEN. “It’s such a blessing to be able to help all these children. This work feeds my soul.”
Company: BOYD Beauty
Website: boydbeauty.com
Instagram: @boydbeauty
Facebook: facebook.com/boyddetroit
Article ID: 2636